Trump says he's open to delaying Blanche nomination over GOP defectors
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Add Axios on Google Attorney General Nominee Todd Blanche leaves a meeting on Capitol Hill on July 29. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
President Trump said Thursday that he would have "no objection" to temporarily withdrawing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination until his Republican opponents are out of office next January.
The big picture: Trump's threat, directed at GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and John Cornyn (Texas), puts Blanche's critics on notice as to what the president deemed "the right thing" after their concerns stalled the acting attorney general's nomination.
Driving the news: " Todd Blanche is a STAR," Trump wrote of his former personal attorney turned Justice Department loyalist.
State of play: A "no" vote from Tillis or Cornyn, who both sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, would prevent Blanche's nomination from advancing to a confirmation vote before the full Senate.
Reality check: Even if the president withdraws Blanche's name for confirmation, he would retain the vast power of the nation's chief law enforcement officer in an acting capacity, as he has since this spring.
What they're saying: "POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis," Cornyn wrote in a post on X.
Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout with additional information.
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